STEPHEN CURRY drained a desperation 3-pointer at the end of the shot clock with 11.5 seconds left in overtime (OT) to help the Golden State Warriors rally past the Boston Celtics, 132-126, on Tuesday night in San Francisco.
Down by as many as 17 points and never in front after halftime until the second minute of overtime, the Warriors won a third straight game led by Curry’s game-high 33 points and Klay Thompson’s 24.
Derrick White had 30 points and Jaylen Brown added 28 to pace the Celtics, who saw a five-game winning streak come to an end but survived a scare when Jayson Tatum had to leave the contest in the first quarter because of a sprained left ankle.
The Boston star was able to return in the second quarter, but he struggled through a 5-for-17, 15-point night in which he still found time for a team-high-tying seven assists.
The teams combined for six missed shots to open the extra session before Jonathan Kuminga stole an Al Horford pass and dunked for a lead Golden State never relinquished.
Trayce Jackson-Davis added a dunk and prevented a Brown slam with a block, helping the Warriors retain a 127-126 lead into the final seconds.
That’s when Curry missed a driving layup without hitting the rim, and with the shot clock running, the Warriors retrieved the ball and got it back to Curry, whose rainbow 25-footer flew cleanly through the net for the Boston backbreaker.
A wild finish to regulation saw the teams combine to miss eight consecutive shots after Curry had produced a 121-all tie with a 3-pointer with 1:36 to go. The Celtics had six of the eight misses, including five on a single trip down the floor that included a pair of missed 3-pointers by White and one by Tatum.
Tatum later had a chance to be the hero but misfired on a buzzer-beating 23-footer.
Curry and Thompson each made six 3-pointers on a night when the Warriors went 20-for-50 from deep. The Celtics made 17 of 58 attempts from long range, with White draining seven treys.
Kuminga finished with 17 points, Jackson-Davis had 10 to complement a game-high 13 rebounds and Chris Paul finished with nine to go with a game-high 12 assists.
Horford and Jrue Holiday added 13 points apiece for the Celtics, who got 11 points from Payton Pritchard and 10 from Neemias Queta. Queta also hauled in 10 rebounds for Boston, which opened a four-game California swing.
Horford was Boston’s leading rebounder with 12 boards.
The Celtics led 65-62 at the break and opened up a 97-86 advantage after three quarters. — Reuters
